Joel Embiid, Doc Rivers Discuss Significance of Seth Curry's Absence

Dealing with injuries and illness is nothing new for the Philadelphia 76ers, especially in the last couple of seasons. While the Sixers are slowly getting back to full strength, they are still missing a handful of key players.

Shake Milton, who injured his back on January 5, has yet to see the floor again. Danny Green, who went out with a hip injury on January 14, could make his return against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night after missing seven-straight games, but that's no guarantee.

Meanwhile, Seth Curry's injury is the most recent for the Sixers. A couple of weeks ago, Curry rolled his ankle, but he remained on the floor beyond the incident. Over time, though, Curry's ankle got sore. And eventually, it became too much for him to take.

Going into last Friday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Curry was listed as questionable. After being considered a game-time decision, the Sixers ruled out the starting guard. It seemed Curry's setback wouldn't last longer than one game, but that hasn't been the case.

Beyond the Clippers matchup, Curry went on to miss two games against the San Antonio Spurs and the New Orleans Pelicans. While the Sixers managed to come out on top in both matchups, the Sixers made it clear following their win over the Pelicans on Tuesday that Curry's absence is still significant for their team.

"He adds a lot to our offense," said Sixers center Joel Embiid. "Obviously, my two-man game with him is huge. That little two action that we always run is hard to guard. So we haven't run that obviously because he hasn't been playing."

Without Curry and Shake Milton, the Sixers are down two reliable ball-handlers. In Doc Rivers' eyes, it goes beyond missing Curry's ball-handling. 

"You miss Shake, you miss Seth, there's no doubt," Rivers said. "Seth, Tobias, Joel, and Tyrese, at the end of a game, we're really efficient. Take one of those guys off the floor, it affects you a little bit. But like I said earlier, this is the year of not having your starting five around the league, not just us," he finished. "You just have to adjust."

The Sixers hope to get Curry back soon, but that won't happen on Thursday night when the Sixers host the Los Angeles Lakers. According to Philadelphia's Wednesday night injury report, Curry is already ruled out due to his sore ankle. Therefore, the Sixers will likely roll with Furkan Korkmaz or Isaiah Joe in the starting lineup. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.